Jacksonville-based radio host Al Letson: People in Ferguson, Mo., trying to turn bad into good

Though people in Ferguson, Mo., are tired of answering questions about their troubled town, they’re still patient with those asking, said Al Letson, Jacksonville poet, playwright and public-radio host.

Letson — host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “State of the Re:Union” and of a WJCT show called “Freestyle” — is in Ferguson with the Times-Union’s Topher Sanders.

Between interviews, Letson shared some of what he’d seen there so far.

What were your initial impressions of Ferguson?

The biggest takeaway for me is that Ferguson is not what I thought it would be. A lot of stuff I read talked about the economic disparity of Ferguson, but when I get out here it does not look like the quote-unquote ghetto to me. The people in Ferguson tell me it’s a working-class community ... One of the reasons I thought it was so bad was the way the police initially handled it — I thought the police must be really scared there.

Other thoughts?

I’ve never been in a place where people automatically see your press pass and take a breath or roll their eyes a little bit. I think people are pretty sick of the press here. I don’t believe they think the press is reporting the whole truth.

Are there still tense scenes with the police?

I haven’t had any troubles with police. I think that time has passed. I haven’t felt in any way there’s any danger here.

What are people talking about?

The mayor was on MSNBC and said there were no racial issues in Ferguson. The black people we’ve talked to, they said absolutely, there are problems here. Not just in Ferguson, but it’s a county-wide thing. People brought up historical references, like Dredd Scott was sold into slavery into here. That’s America right there: White people think it’s never about race, and black people think it’s always about race. I think the truth is somewhere between that. There’s clearly a gap in understanding there.

Is there still the grief and rage we saw so much of?

At nighttime, when people gather, I don’t feel rage at this point. I think the rage has passed. I feel there’s very much a buckling down: Let’s try to make change. That’s the vibe I get from folks. Most of the people we talk to said it’s time to heal, I hope this can move our community forward, into a better place for everybody in the community. For me I feel that the mood of the place, at this point, is strangely hopeful ...

(But) the ground shifts so fast here. It seems to me the police department has not done a good job at all in getting information out, the way they communicate with people.

What’s it look like at night?

People gathered. A lot of people of faith are out there, church groups, a lot of singing, chanting. ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ — you heard that. There were politicians around, the highway patrol chief, Ron Johnson ... You saw more police officers shaking hands with people than anything.

But if you drive down a little further you see the armored Humvees, the National Guard, in the parking lot of the Target, about a mile from where this all happened. While they’re not part of the scene, they’re just waiting. Just waiting.